Life's A Beach
by HellonHeels44
Summary: This is a sequel to Catch the Wave, requested by Ifyoucanfindmeimhere. Andrea senses that Sharon and Rusty are both stressed about the upcoming Stroh trial and wants to treat them to a break away from Los Angeles, but will Sharon let her? Many thanks to my fabulously amazing coauthor, DefyingNormalcy, for being her usual awesome self.
1. Chapter 1

The hand on Rusty's shoulder caused him to jerk backwards violently. He yanked his headphones off and looked up to find Andrea standing by his desk, hands held up in surrender.

"Sorry!" she apologized hastily, "I knocked but you didn't answer. Your music was so loud I could hear it from outside the door. Dinner's ready," she informed him.

He shrugged at her. "Uh, okay," he said with no real enthusiasm.

Andrea frowned at his uncharacteristic response. Friday night dinner was her tradition with Sharon and Rusty. They always either came over to her home in Malibu or she drove over to their condo as a prequel to his Saturday surfing lessons with Andrea's nephew, Justin. Rusty was usually far more excited than he was this evening; in fact, he often helped to prepare dinner. He and Andrea had made it their own little tradition to cook for Sharon on Friday nights; Rusty liked being able to do little things like that for Sharon, to show his appreciation for her, and Andrea just loved being able to have something to bond with Rusty over. She'd always loved cooking, and having had no children of her own, and nephews that were completely disinterested in meal preparation, it was refreshing to finally have someone she could pass on her recipes to.

"I made your favourite," she tried instead, "beef lasagna. Extra cheese. Made it fresh this morning so I could bring it over tonight." She smiled at him, hoping to elicit a more enthusiastic response. Normally they prepared the meal together, but both she and Sharon had anticipated a late evening so she'd gotten up a two hours earlier than normal to prepare the dish so all she had to do at Sharon's was pop it in the oven.

Instead, he shrugged again, giving her a half-hearted smile. "Thanks Andrea. That's great," he mumbled as he shuffled after her to Sharon's kitchen. Andrea frowned again; something was up, and it drove her crazy that she couldn't quite put her finger on it.

XXX

Sharon nuzzled the skin of Andrea's collarbone and neck while she wrapped her legs around Andrea's hips. Sharon was always freezing, whereas Andrea was always warm; the thermostat in the condo was kept slightly warmer than Andrea would prefer which meant that she often slept in just a tank top and shorts at Sharon's while Sharon wore a full length nightgown or pajama set. Still, Sharon was often cold when she slept, and having Andrea's warm body in the bed with her while she slept was becoming more of a necessity in the last few months that they'd been together.

"Sharon, your nose is freezing," Andrea shivered as Sharon's button-nose nudged the warmth of Andrea's neck.

"I'm cold," Sharon said, exasperated, "warm me up," she said, her tone out rightly flirtatious.

"Rusty is down the hall, and he's still awake," she reminded Sharon amusedly; Sharon huffed in response. They certainly never hid the fact that when they spent the night at each other's homes, they shared the bed, nor did they hide their affection from Rusty when they were with him. But, there were certain things that they didn't necessarily want to risk the teen overhearing.

Sharon hitched her leg higher, and pivoted Andrea so that she moved from her position laying on her back, to facing Sharon. In this position, Andrea could wrap her arms around the brunette more fully. "Mmm, that's better," Sharon sighed as Andrea ran her hands up and down her back. Sharon nuzzled her nose further into the crook of Andrea's neck and sighed contentedly.

"Sharon...honey, what's up with Rusty?" Andrea asked quietly as she fiddled with the waistband of Sharon's pajama bottoms resting against her back. "He's seemed so distracted lately. Did something happen at school? Did someone say something to him?" She couldn't help the protectiveness that coiled deep in her belly, she'd come to care about Rusty's well being not just as Sharon's foster son, but as someone she'd started to deeply love and worry about; as a member of her own family.

Sharon pulled away from her slightly to look at her and pulled the covers up further around her body. "It's this trial," she said, sighing, "he's being asked to relive everything that he's trying so desperately to put behind him. And he won't talk to me about it," she said, voice cracking, "and I have to respect his need for privacy, but it breaks my heart Andrea. I thought we'd come so far, and this whole trial is dragging us backwards. On one hand, I want Rusty to testify so we can lock Stroh away for good, on the other hand, I want to do everything I can to stop him from having to testify. I don't know what to do." Sharon allowed Andrea to pull her close, she accepted the kisses that her younger partner placed across her furrowed brow.

"I know that you want to respect his need for privacy, but do you think him talking about it will help?" Andrea asked gently as she went back to rubbing Sharon's back. "Or do you think that it'll just lead to him never having a break from it? Is that maybe what he needs... a break? Is there some way we can just get his mind off it entirely?"

Sharon sighed deeply. "I don't know. I wish, I wish he would talk to me. Every time I try and talk to him he gets cold and he closes himself up."

"I know you want to fix it for him, but you can't, you can't change his past," she whispered, hugging Sharon close. "Talking about it may just be too painful for him. What you're doing by giving him a loving home and your unconditional support is going to mean the world and make the difference as to whether or not Rusty makes it through this, Sharon. You're doing everything you can, and you're doing everything right. He knows that you're there for him, and that you'll still be there for him when he's ready to talk about it." She kissed Sharon gently and ran her fingers through her hair, wishing she could make the situation better for her. As much as Sharon wanted to fix things for Rusty, Andrea wanted to fix things for Sharon too; she hated seeing both of them so stressed out.

Sharon hugged Andrea tighter. "Thank you," she whispered against Andrea's neck and shoulder.

"Don't thank me. I love you, I love Rusty, it's my job to worry about you both and to want to keep you both safe."

Sharon grinned against Andrea's skin, she loved how protective Andrea was of her and her kids. Even though her two children were grown and living on their own, Andrea still sent frequent emails and texts to them, just to check in and make sure they were happy and safe. "I love you, too." Sharon said simply, ghosting her lips along Andrea's collarbone. Content with Andrea's responses, Sharon settled into her side and closed her eyes, allowing the exhaustion from the day to overtake her tired body.

XXX

"Sharon's here!" Rusty called out as he opened Andrea's front door to let his foster mother in. "You're late," he told her unnecessarily. Andrea had picked him up from chess after school today and taken him home with her, Sharon had warned them both she needed to stay later at the office for a meeting.

"I know," she said, "I'm sorry, my meeting with Taylor went a lot longer than I had anticipated."

"It's okay, Rusty and I have decided no dessert for you," Andrea said over her shoulder as Sharon and Rusty made their way into her kitchen. "And that's unfortunate because we made your favourite." She was hunched over a large pizza tray with the sleeves of her casual at-home blouse rolled up, kneading the raw pizza dough out. Rusty took up his place next to her at the other tray, sprinkling cheese and assorted chopped vegetables out across the dough.

Sharon looped her arms around Andrea's waist casually. "I'm sorry," she said again, kissing Andrea's clothed shoulder. Andrea turned her head to catch Sharon's lips in a brief kiss. Sharon eyed the apple pie sitting on the counter. "But you wouldn't deny an old, feeble woman her very favourite dessert, would you?" she said raising her eyebrows and pouting.

Rusty laughed. "That's the worst line I've ever heard, Sharon."

"Yeah, and it's not working on me," Andrea said.

Sharon smacked Andrea playfully and sighed. "You're both mean. I'm going to change my clothes," she chided before she stalked out of the kitchen in mock anger. Rusty grinned as he heard her laughing down the hall. This evening almost felt normal, but his thoughts kept drifting back to the trial, despite how hard he tried to stop them from ending up there. Emma had interviewed him again yesterday, had forced him to recount, again, the details of how Stroh had broken into Brenda Leigh Johnson's kitchen and attacked them both.

He sighed quietly to himself as Stroh took up occupancy in his head once again. He wished he could focus on chess or swimming with his friends or the hiking trip through the hills Sharon and Andrea had promised him and Justin after surfing lessons tomorrow. It seemed no matter what he tried, all roads led back to Stroh and that fateful night in Brenda's kitchen.

It wasn't long before Sharon re-appeared, clad in a dark red sweatshirt and black yoga pants, her feet tucked into her UGGs. Andrea laughed as she took in the sight of her girlfriend clad in winter wear in the middle of summer, but Sharon was always freezing at Andrea's house. Sharon rested her hands on Rusty's shoulders, content to be as close to him as he would allow. "Anything I can help with, or have I been banned from the kitchen as well?"

Rusty reached around and flung an arm over her shoulder, happy to be in her embrace. Words were hard with Sharon, but her touch was comforting. "No, you're not banned. You can cut up the peppers if you want any on the pizza," he muttered, pointing to a pile of sweet red peppers on the other side of the counter.

Andrea watched them both out of the corner of her eye as they chatted and held each other. She adored seeing them this way; she loved the easy domesticity they had all fallen into. Sharon reveled in being a mom, that much was obvious, and she was so good at it; being Rusty's mom came to Sharon naturally as breathing did. She smiled and kissed Sharon quickly on the cheek as she walked by to begin her job of cutting the rest of the vegetables. Andrea hoped that what she had planned would give them both the break they deserved.

With the pizzas put carefully into the oven, and the three of them sitting at Andrea's table, drinks in hand, she decided to bring up her big surprise.

"So, I have something exciting I wanted to talk to you both about," she said. Rusty sat up a little straighter in his chair, Sharon quirked her eyebrow at her. "I was thinking that the three of us need a vacation. And I don't just mean time off of work and school spent at home; I mean a real vacation. Let's get out of LA and do something different for a bit." She held her breath as she took in the reaction from both of her guests. Rusty was grinning excitedly, whereas Sharon was wearing her poker face.

"Really?" he asked. "Oh my god, when, where? Andrea this is so cool!" he exclaimed.

Andrea smiled at him. "I was thinking Hawaii. You can go surfing, and it's warm enough that Sharon can leave her UGGs at home," she winked at Sharon, "there's the beach, delicious food, gorgeous hiking trails..."

"For quite a price," Sharon interjected. "A trip to Hawaii at this time of year is insanely expensive, and how long did you want to go for Andrea? How are we going to get the time off? What about Rusty's studies?"

"I have two years worth of personal days that I have just been waiting to cash in, and knowing you Sharon, you probably have even more than I," she narrowed her eyes at Sharon, "and don't worry about the cost. I am taking you and Rusty on vacation."

"Wow, Andrea that's -"

"Absolutely not, you are not spending that sort of cash-"

Both Rusty and Sharon clamored for the blonde's attention.

"Enough. Rusty, we will work out a time that is best with your teachers; you are going to have to do some extra work before we go so that you're not behind when you get back. Sharon, Provenza has already hinted that he wouldn't mind taking over for a week-"

"You ran this by Provenza before running it by me?" Sharon asked quietly. Andrea pursed her lips.

"I hinted that I was thinking of taking some time off, and he correctly assumed that I meant you as well. He mentioned that if need be, he'd be happy to run the show for you," she said defensively. This was not how she'd hoped her announcement would go.

Sharon nodded her head and got up to check on the pizza in the oven. She didn't quite know why she was reacting the way she was, Andrea knew how much she wanted to visit Hawaii, she'd mentioned it to her weeks before. It was incredibly thoughtful of her to want to take them on vacation...but...part of her was reluctant to just simply accept such an offer. "Can we talk about it after dinner Andrea? Thank you... it sounds like it's going to be great but we can maybe iron out the details later?" She knew it wasn't the response Andrea wanted, but it was all she could give her right now, she didn't want to argue in front of Rusty especially not when he was so excited about the whole thing.

Andrea nodded. "Sure thing." Not at all the reaction she'd been hoping for.


	2. Chapter 2

Andrea sat on the edge of the bed as she pulled her top off. She still had no idea why Sharon was so upset about the suggested vacation. She sighed as she tossed the shirt and jeans she had been wearing in the laundry hamper and lay down, too lazy to finish changing into her pajamas. Sharon came out of the bathroom, her long waves piled on top of her head in a bun, her feet still clad in her heavy black UGG boots. Andrea smiled weakly as she watched her walk to the bed. Even when she was mad at her, Sharon made her grin.

"Sharon..." she said quietly, as Sharon sat down on her side of the bed, back facing her.

"I know. We need to talk," Sharon countered just as quietly as she pulled her boots off and climbed into bed, her feet still covered in socks. Andrea snapped her bra off and grabbed her oversized t-shirt at the foot of the bed, hastily tugging it on before joining Sharon under the covers. Sharon plucked the clip from atop her head and Andrea watched as her messy waves tumbled down her shoulders. "Let me start off by apologizing for reacting so strongly, and so negatively. I'm touched that you want to take Rusty and I on vacation-"

"But?" Andrea sighed.

"But there are a lot of things to consider, most of which I brought up when I reacted initially," Sharon said. "And then there are other things to consider too. More...personal things,"she admitted. They were committed, they were living together on weekends, but this was new to them, in the eight months that they'd been together, they hadn't gone on a family vacation. In fact, the last time she had gone on a family vacation, Sharon's son and daughter had been toddlers, and she'd still been with Jack. That had been well over twenty years ago.

"I'm sorry if I came across as controlling by insisting I take you both on a trip, that wasn't my intention. I just wanted to surprise you both, and take your minds off of the Stroh case for a few days," she said softly as she entwined Sharon's hand with her own. "And I knew if I brought it up to you first, you'd insist on splitting the cost. I don't want that, I want to take you both away from LA, from Stroh, from all of the bullshit, and just spend time with you."

"Andrea," Sharon sighed, "that is insanely sweet of you, and I love you for it, but I am not letting you spend thousands of dollars on us like that. It's not fair," she insisted.

Andrea tugged Sharon closer to her so she could rain kisses across Sharon's chin and cheek. "You two are worth every last penny. It's not about the money Sharon, I have more than enough to take us to Hawaii and back ten times over before it would affect my savings in a significant way. It's the point, you two have become my family; you're both hurting and I just want to take care of you."

Sharon lay against Andrea in silence for a moment, trying to find the right words. It wasn't that she didn't want to go, or that she didn't appreciate Andrea's gesture, she had just never been taken care of before. Being married to Jack was a chore of sorts; she was always the caretaker, whether it was for their children or for him. If there was a birthday party, Sharon planned it, if there was a family trip, Sharon paid for it. Jack had never been responsible enough with his time or money to provide for his family. Sharon was entirely unaccustomed to this feeling.

"I... okay. I will let you take care of us," she whispered, her nerves present in her voice. She clung desperately to Andrea, the statement carrying more gravity than she wanted it to.

"Honey..." Andrea sighed, combing her fingers through Sharon's hair as she held her. The ways in which Jack Raydor had broken Sharon's heart were immeasurable. Some days Andrea wanted to kill him for it. "Sharon. This is what family does. This is what equal partners do. Let me do this for _our_ family, please. This is how I can help you and Rusty. Let me help you."

Tears threatened to spill down Sharon's cheeks as the tenderness in Andrea's voice wrapped around her like a warm embrace. "Okay," she muttered against Andrea's shoulder, squeezing her eyelids together to stop the tears from falling, "Okay. Take us away, please."

Andrea kissed her forehead and ran her hands down the length of her back. "Hawaii will be fun. Rusty can practice his surfing skills. I was thinking we could even let him invite Justin along if he wants and if my brother and sister-in-law agree to it." She smiled against Sharon's temple, changing the subject to a lighter topic. She wanted this vacation to be something positive, not another thing that broke Sharon's heart. There'd been enough of that happening lately as it was.

"Rusty would love that," Sharon agreed, "They've really taken to each other."

"Yeah, and you know, Hawaii is really hot. Guess you'll have to pack all your shorts and swimsuits for the trip?" Andrea grinned against the top of Sharon's head.

Sharon chuckled. "That's what this is all about isn't it? You just want to see me in casual shorts all day and not my suits."

"I love you in your suits," Andrea kissed down Sharon's forehead, "I love you in jeans," across her cheek, "I love you in absolutely nothing at all," at the corner of her parted lips. "But I would very much like to see you in short shorts and a bikini, as often as possible." She captured Sharon's lips in a soft, slow kiss.

"Mmmm, I'm afraid I don't own a bikini," Sharon hummed as they parted. "Guess my one piece will have to do?"

Andrea considered this for a moment. "If I bought you a bikini..." but Sharon's glare put an end to her sentence.

"Is all the lingerie not enough? God knows you've bought enough of it for me to last me a lifetime."

Andrea grinned goofily. "I like you in lace," she said simply. Sharon wiggled against her and Andrea reminded, "Rusty is probably still awake."

Sharon laughed as she rolled over so she was sitting on top of Andrea. "I feel like me in a two piece anything is a visual I'd like to keep in the bedroom. I mean, do you really want all of Hawaii to see me half-naked?"

"No," Andrea said quickly as she grasped Sharon's hips possessively. She couldn't help herself, she was insanely jealous when it came to Sharon. She trusted Sharon, of course, but whenever Andrea caught someone else - man or woman - ogling Sharon, she had the overwhelming urge to strangle them with her bare hands. Sharon of course knew this about her and at first she laughed it off, but like all of Andrea's quirks, Sharon just couldn't resist teasing her about them.

Andrea caught Sharon's smirk. "You are an evil, evil woman Sharon Raydor," Andrea growled as her fingertips inched up Sharon's top.

"Perhaps," Sharon gasped as Andrea's fingertips made contact with her belly. "I thought you didn't want to?" she teased as Andrea rolled them so that Sharon was beneath her.

Andrea nosed aside Sharon's thick waves to suck at the pulse point on her neck. "Use a pillow to keep quiet," she sassed as she travelled further down her lover's body, tugging Sharon's pajama bottoms as she went.


	3. Chapter 3

"Okay boys, beach in twenty! Get your stuff unpacked and your gear ready!" Andrea called out as she shuffled hers and Sharon's luggage down the hall into the master bedroom. Sharon followed close behind her, admiring the decor throughout the house. Andrea pushed the door at the very end of the hall open to reveal a modern, well decorated suite with a plush, king size bed in the center of it, covered in rose petals.

"Rose petals, hmm?" Sharon smirked as she moved further into the room. "Little romantic for life with two teenage boys, don't you think?"

Andrea dropped the bags and moved to Sharon, wrapping her arms around her. "The boys don't need to come into our room, and this is our vacation too." She grinned at Sharon, littering her jawline with kisses. She was grateful that Justin and Rusty were busy catching up and excitedly chatting about their plans for the week in their room down the hall, it had been a busy few days leading up to their vacation and Andrea hadn't had the chance to see, much less indulge in making out with, her partner.

"Vacation," Sharon moaned, "this is so heavenly. No paperwork, no investigations, no murders in the middle of the night, I may never go back to LA."

"We can retire early," Andrea joked between kisses as she moved to unhook Sharon's bra.

Sharon rolled her eyes and her laugh quickly turned into another moan as Andrea nibbled on her neck as she discarded her clothes. "Andrea... we have to change..." she managed to mutter as the younger blonde backed her against the bed.

"Did you bring a bikini?" Andrea teased, lips curling into a grin against Sharon's cheek.

"No Andrea Hobbs, I did not. I did buy a new bathing suit though."

Andrea separated herself from Sharon's neck. "Oh?" she prompted.

"Well, if you don't stop fooling around, I won't be able to put it on for you, now will I?" she reasoned. Andrea turned them around so the backs of her legs hit the bed, then she tugged Sharon's hips towards her.

"I was being helpful. Your clothes needed removing," Andrea reasoned as she sat on the bed and unbuttoned Sharon's trousers, tugging them off her hips. She couldn't stop herself from kissing the soft skin of Sharon's slight belly as she helped Sharon shimmy out of the pants.

"Aunt Andrea, do you have any sunscreen?" Justin called. Sharon pushed Andrea down on the mattress and dashed into the bathroom just as Andrea's nephew was knocking at their door. Taking a moment to calm her rapidly beating heart, Andrea cursed under her breath; kids really had the worst timing sometimes.

"Yeah, one second," she answered before fishing the bottle out of her bag and heading to the door. She opened it and handed the bottle to him. "You and Rusty almost ready?" she asked.

"Yeah, we're good to go, what's taking you so long?" he asked, smirking. He crossed his arms and leaned against the doorframe, reminding her exactly of his father, her baby brother, when they were kids.

"Don't," she warned him.

"I mean, if you need a few minutes to get it out of your system..." he teased.

Andrea poked him in the chest. "Watch it buddy. You're no better with your girlfriend when she comes over for dinner. Don't think that I haven't seen you two holding hands under the table, or sneaking kisses on the couch when I'm in the kitchen cooking," she teased, narrowing her eyes at him.

Justin's response was to playfully roll his eyes. "I was just being considerate," he said, feigning innocence.

"Be considerate with Rusty, watch some T.V while Sharon and I get changed," she said, closing the door on his smirking face.

"Is he gone?" Sharon asked, giggling as she poked her head out from the bathroom.

"Coward," Andrea said, laughing. "I can't believe you threw me under the bus like that."

"Sorry," Sharon said, in that way that meant she wasn't at all sorry. "Can you hand me that bag over there, please?"

Andrea glared at her before handing over the requested bag. "The boys are ready to go so we should get moving," she said mournfully as she unzipped her own bag and started changing into her navy blue tankini. She was smoothing down the top half of it over her stomach when she felt Sharon's hands cup and squeeze her backside.

"I like this look on you," Sharon said, lips ghosting the shell of Andrea's ear.

"I like that you like this look on me," Andrea said playfully. She turned around in Sharon's embrace and her jaw hit the floor. Instead of her usual black one piece, she wore a bright red one piece with a deep v-neckline, highlighting Sharon's killer cleavage and the tiny freckles that Andrea so adored. "Oh my god," Andrea murmured.

"Do you like it?" Sharon asked shyly; she hadn't worn a bathing suit this revealing in years.

Andrea took a step back to admire her girlfriend. "Like? I don't think like is quite strong enough a word, my dear..." she muttered, moving to run her hands over Sharon's hips, which were perfectly highlighted by the tight lycra material. "It's going to take a miracle to stop me from making love to you on the beach."

Sharon laughed, rich and deep, "Don't, I would hate to get arrested," she deadpanned.

Andrea rolled her eyes and backed away from Sharon, making a concerted effort not to touch her. "Come on, let's go before I rip that thing off of you _right now_."

"Yes Counselor," Sharon winked as she grabbed her beach bag, "After you."


	4. Chapter 4

"I can't believe you brought the floppy hat with you," Rusty muttered in the backseat of their rental. "Andrea, tell her it's ridiculous. You two are already dating so you don't have to pretend to like it anymore," he implored. Beside him, Justin was biting his fist to keep from laughing.

Sharon glared at him in the reflection of the rearview mirror.

"I wasn't lying when I said I thought it was adorable," Andrea said, "And by the way, lying to an attractive woman won't get you a date with her, it'll get you a death wish," she said seriously. "That goes for anyone you want to date, really, man or woman."

Sharon rested her hand on Andrea's thigh and watched Rusty and Justin in the rear view mirror "You both better watch it, or I'll buy _you_ floppy hats."

"Okay, okay, Aunt Sharon. We like the hat." Justin was quick to compliment her, patting her on the shoulder to calm her down as her laughed with Rusty. He had taken to calling her Aunt Sharon after the first few months she and Andrea got together. She liked it; it made her feel like she and Andrea really were an inseparable, recognized, legitimate unit.

"Thank you, Justin." She laughed as she watched the two boys nudge each other in the back seat.

"We're here," Andrea announced as she successfully maneuvered their rented van into a narrow parking space. "Get the boards out!" She didn't have to ask twice, the boys were already hastily unbuckling their seatbelts and rushing to drag their surfboards out of the back of the van. Andrea took a moment to lean forward and kiss the tip of Sharon's nose. "I do find you adorable in this hat. Thank goodness you wore it, otherwise I'd be staring at your bathing suit the entire time," she teased.

Sharon smacked her playfully on her thigh, then caught her lips with her own. "Thank you for bringing us here. I haven't seen Rusty this happy in weeks, Andrea."

"I'm glad he's having fun so far. We needed this," Andrea said. "Just wait until we take them hiking tomorrow though, they may hate us by the time we're done with them."

"From what I've heard, the views of the volcano totally counteract the physical effects of the hike," Sharon laughed, "but I may hate you by the end of it too."

"I'll massage your legs after," Andrea purred, "I promise." She was about to lean in for another kiss when a sharp knock against the hood of the van interrupted her. Her nephew and Rusty were glaring at them impatiently, clutching their boards and backpacks. "We're being summoned, let's go before they make _us_ go surfing," she laughed.

The view from their towels on the beach was magnificent. There was something about the sand, the sun, and the aroma from the flora that grew nearby that made Sharon feel so decadent. The boys were wreaking havoc in the water and Sharon had to admire how much they'd both learned in the last several months from their lessons. They navigated the waves with practiced ease, watching them became less stressful for her now that she was confident in their abilities.

Next to her, Andrea was sprawled out on her towel, soaking up the sun. Her hair was turning a lovely platinum blonde, but her skin, which usually tanned nicely, was starting to burn. Sharon brushed her hand lightly across Andrea's shoulder. "Andrea? Did you re-apply sunscreen?" she asked.

Andrea, who was lying on her back, lifted her head up slightly to address her. "No, why? I'm usually good with just one application."

"You're starting to burn," Sharon informed her, "your back is turning red."

Andrea laughed. "I don't burn," she said, brushing off Sharon's concern, "I'm fine Sharon, really."

"No, honey, really. Your back is burning, and even if you don't normally burn, it's dangerous for _anyone_ to forgo wearing sunscreen." Sharon chided, pulling the tube of lotion out of her bag. "Just put my mind at ease and let me at least re-apply it to your back?"

Andrea leaned over and kissed the corner of Sharon's mouth. "You're just looking for an excuse to rub me in public. Sharon Raydor, you shady lady," she teased, sitting up so she could flip over. "I will turn over, is that okay, Captain?"

Sharon rolled her eyes and tossed the sunscreen back into her beach bag. "Whatever. It's your back, Andrea, just remember that it will be you in pain later."

"Yes my love," Andrea chuckled.

Sharon turned her attention back to the boys, who were riding wave after wave as the tide came in. She took a deep breath and held it for a moment before exhaling. She couldn't begin to put into coherent thought how nice it was to be on a beach, without her cell phone, with the love of her life, watching Rusty act like a carefree kid with her honorary nephew.

After a while, Justin and Rusty came in and collapsed next to Sharon and Andrea in two exhausted heaps. "That. Was. Awesome." Rusty smiled up at his foster mom as he laid his head on the edge of her towel, soaking her thigh with his hair. Sharon's heart swelled as she watched him; this was the closest he'd allowed himself to get to her in a while.

"I'm so glad you're having fun, Rusty," she said softly, resting her hand on his shoulder. She dared, after a moment, to softly brush the wet hair off of his forehead. Rusty watched her for a moment, then afforded her a small smile.

"Love you, Sharon," he muttered, almost quiet enough that she didn't hear it. Sharon squeezed his shoulder. It was a small gesture, but as they watched each other, they both knew. Things were going to be okay.

"I love you, too, Rusty. Very much," she said, just as softly.

Andrea watched their exchange with pride, her heart swelled to see them both so happy and carefree. "I don't know about you boys, but I'm starving," she said after a moment, "why don't we head back to the cottage and have us an early dinner? We'll pick something up on the way back?"

The boys nodded in agreement and began to pick up their things and stuff their towels in to their beach bags. Andrea extended a hand to Sharon, helping her to stand. Sharon moved closer to her as soon as she was on her feet, wrapping her arms around her.

"Thank you," she said seriously, kissing Andrea on the cheek. "This was _exactly_ what he needed."

Andrea grinned at Sharon and kissed her on the lips in response. "Come on, let's go home honey."

Sharon walked out of the bathroom, a plush white towel wrapped around her nude, slim figure. It had been a lovely day at the beach, but she was happy to get the sand off of her. "It's gorgeous out here," she muttered as she met Andrea on the balcony, admiring the view.

Andrea turned to her, then did a double take. "Why do you _do_ that?" she laughed, pointing at Sharon in the towel. "You obviously enjoy torturing me," she sighed. Andrea moved to wrap her arms around Sharon, but she was a little stiffer than she was earlier in the day and it showed.

Sharon frowned. "Andrea? Are you okay?" she rubbed her hands up and down Andrea's back through the soft cotton of her tank top. This time, Andrea's wince was unmistakable. "You're burnt! I told you!" she exclaimed, "How bad is it?"

Andrea rolled her eyes and wrapped an arm around Sharon. "I'm fine. It isn't that bad, if it's even really a burn. Which, I don't think it is," she countered, glaring down at Sharon, "I never burn," she repeated stubbornly.

"You never burn in LA, maybe, but we are in Hawaii, and you were in the sun for hours, and you only put sunscreen on once. You're burnt," Sharon chided, moving to lift up Andrea's shirt. "Oh my god!" she exclaimed when she saw the red, peeling skin of Andrea's back, "Andrea!"

"I'm fine," Andrea insisted. But Sharon just rolled her eyes and went back to the bathroom in search of the aloe vera she had packed for their trip.

"Shirt off, on the bed, face down," she gritted out, annoyed.

"You know, usually when you say that we're about to have a lot more fun than we're going to right now," Andrea complained as she lifted her shirt above her head, with some difficulty, and reached behind her back to unsnap her bra. She did as Sharon said and lay down on the mattress, sighing as she did. _Why_ on earth did Sharon have to be right this time? There was absolutely no way Sharon as going to let her live this one down; not any time soon, anyway.

"You'll be lucky if we have any of that sort of fun with your back like this," Sharon snapped as she spread a generous amount of the aloe vera across Andrea's back. Leave it to Andrea to roll her tankini up all the way, to make sure the sunburn on her back was spread evenly.

"What?" Andrea jerked her head up, then hissed as the sudden movement irritated the burn on the back of her neck.

"Head down," Sharon instructed, "your neck is burnt too. I've got to say Hobbs, when you do something, you certainly don't do it half-assed," she sighed.

"Part of my charm," Andrea mumbled into the pillow.

"You can't turn over, you're going to have to sleep on your stomach tonight with the sheets turned down," she said irritably. Sharon preferred to sleep with the sheets up to her chin; that was going to be difficult with Andrea's burn tonight.

"I had plans tonight," Andrea said miserably, "and they involved each of us being flat on our backs at some point in the evening."

Sharon laughed at the pathetic, contrived look Andrea threw her way. "No. I am not irritating that burn. As it is, it's going to be worse tomorrow." Sharon got off of the bed and bent over her luggage to retrieve a dusty-rose baby-doll and a pair of panties.

Andrea watched, dry mouthed, as Sharon changed into the alluring sleepwear in front of her. "That's new," she croaked.

"Yes, I bought it for this trip," Sharon said nonchalantly. She walked back to the bed, with a deliberate sway of her hips. "If you're a good girl and you _listen_ to me, your back will feel better in a few days time. You may even get to enjoy me in this at some point."

As she lowered herself onto the mattress, Andrea tugged her closer, ignoring the pain as her burnt skin was stretched with the movement. They arranged themselves so that Andrea's head was pillowed on Sharon's chest, and her arm was wrapped around Sharon's baby-doll clad waist. "I will wear sunscreen tomorrow," she promised seriously into the swell of Sharon's cleavage, "and I will sit in the shade and re-apply the damn lotion every hour."

Sharon chuckled, and planted a kiss on the top of Andrea's sun-kissed locks. "Yes dear."

Sharon moved among the racks of clothing and souvenirs in the tourist shop as she waited for Rusty and Justin to make their purchases. What they could possibly need in preparation for going up the side of a volcano she didn't know, but she wasn't about to question two teenage boys when she was the one who was outnumbered. As she moved along the back of the shop, she spotted them; the solution to Andrea's recent sunburn issue. Smirking to herself at the irony, she quickly sought the attention of the shopkeeper and purchased the item and stuffed it into her beach bag as quickly as she could without the boys seeing.

"Sharon, we're ready," Rusty called out as the boys exited the shop with their stuff, then waited for her outside, "Do you think Andrea will be ready when we get back to the house?"

"Oh, yes, she was just moving a little slow this morning, but she'll be ready," she smiled, resting a hand on either one of the boys shoulders as she sauntered back down the road with them. "I think she's learned her lesson by now, and will be applying generous amounts of sunscreen to her body before she thinks about stepping foot outside."

The boys snickered as they followed Sharon back into the van for the short trip back to the cottage. "So this hike thing today, we're going on a real volcano?" Rusty asked as he fiddled with his iPhone in the front seat next to Sharon, trying to snap photos out the window as she drove.

"Yes, apparently," Sharon mused, "though it's been inactive for some time, I believe... or, I hope. It should be a nice little hike. It supposed to take a couple of hours one way."

"Sounds like fun." Justin grinned as he unbuckled his seatbelt when Sharon parked the car outside their rented cottage. Andrea was sitting on the stairs, her back hunched forward as she read her book.

Sharon kissed Andrea on the top of her head and squeezed her shoulder as gently as she could. "You ready to go, honey? I just need to grab the lunch bags before we head out."

Andrea winced slightly as Sharon touched her shoulder. "Yup, I'm all packed," she said, her smile looking more like a grimace.

"Did you re-apply the aloe vera?" Sharon asked.

"Yes, and the sunscreen. And my skin feels like it has a few extra layers now thanks to the lotion and the goo."

Sharon shook her head and laughed. "Well, I bought you something for the hike today to help with your sunburn," Sharon said. There was a mischievous twinkle in her eyes that could only mean trouble.

"Oh god. Sharon, what did you do?" Andrea asked, a little bit afraid of her girlfriend.

"What?" Sharon said with feigned innocence. "Do you want your present or not?" she narrowed her eyes at Andrea, indicating that if Andrea wanted to continue sharing that luxurious bed with her, she was going to answer in the affirmative.

"Yes, please," Andrea said carefully.

Sharon retrieved the oversized, floppy hat from the bag. It was deep, burnt orange and white striped and made from paper with a thick ribbon around the dome. All in all, Sharon thought she'd done a good job of capturing Andrea's personality if Andrea were a silly floppy hat, that is; classic and elegant, but eccentric and unique at the same time.

Andrea accepted her gift and put it on her head, turning left and right. "Well? How do I look?" she asked playfully.

Sharon had meant for the hat to be a joke, a gag gift, but she had to admit, the colour and style of the hat looked quite lovely on the blonde. "Adorable," Sharon pronounced as she leaned forward to kiss Andrea. Behind her she could hear the boys snickering.

"Great," Justin muttered to Rusty, "Now we've got _two_ of them."

Rusty nudged Justin. "Dude, re-apply the sunscreen. I'm not wearing a hat like that."

"Dude, trust me, the hat will be the least of your worries," Andrea grimaced as she imitated the boys' tone and language.

"Well, I did pick up something else for you boys," Sharon said seriously. The boys looked at each other, then at Sharon, in utter horror. Andrea bit her lower lip to stifle her laughter. Sharon retrieved the souvenirs from inside the bag, and the boys relaxed visibly. "They're key chains for your car keys," she said with a smirk, "What did you think I bought?"

Rusty and Justin took their gifts with matching, relieved, grins. "Nothing Sharon," Rusty said with contrived innocence.

"Thanks, this is great," Justin added.

The four of them gathered their bags and reloaded the van. Just as Rusty and Justin were getting into the backseat, Justin caught Rusty's elbow. "Don't worry, I hear the trails up the mountain get be windy. And if it's an active volcano..." he trailed off grinning.

"Sweet," Rusty said, snickering the whole way to the volcano.


End file.
